In the most general of terms, a conflict of interest is “a set of circumstances that creates a risk that professional judgment or actions regarding a primary interest will be unduly influenced by a secondary interest.”

In Arizona, there really are no rules governing legislative conflict of interest statutes.  Essentially, as long as at least 10 people benefit from a piece of legislation, there is no conflict of interest.  Should allegations of conflicts of interest arise, there’s really ...

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Claim Retaliation for Support of Tax Hike Prop 204

Never underestimate the wrath of political sore losers. When the people speak and deny them their wishes, they usually have a sharply worded response: “See you in court.”

The familiar drama was on display in the Supreme Court last week by the factions that lost the definition-of-marriage-proposition vote in California. Not to be deterred, they went to the federal courts where they are counting on a select group of men and women in black robe...

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May Day– more than any other day– is a holiday for the 99%. For decades, on May 1, workers around the world have honored the memory of Haymarket Square and striking Chicago workers who were fighting for an 8-hour work day. From Wikipedia… The Haymarket affair (also known as the Haymarket massacre or Haymarket riot) refers to [...]

Last week’s AFL-CIO Day of Action at the State Capitol was a resounding success. Approximately 1000 workers came to Phoenix to express their displeasure with our state’s Republican-controlled government and the six anti-worker bills still alive in the Legislature. From the Huffington Post… The statewide AFL-CIO called for a Day of Action on March 1, [...]

Is Newt Gingrich really looking for his fourth wife on the campaign trail? Check out The Nation’s John Nichols’ humorous critique of the Republican Presidential candidates. Nichols spoke last week in Tucson.

When I originally reported on the AFL-CIO Day of Action, I said four bus-loads of unionists were going to the Capitol to lobby Legislators and demonstrate against the anti-labor bills. Correction: that’s four buses just from Tucson. Additional bus-loads will be arriving from other Arizona cities. As they loaded the buses, one participant told me [...]